Creative Economy
Building the Creative Economy Forum 2012
Presented by the Pacific Institute of Public Policy in association with the Festival of Pacific Arts and Solo One TV
Saturday 7 July 2012, 11.30am-1.30pm
Auditorium, National Museum, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Speakers
- Alasdair Foster ( Cultural Development Consulting)
- Dr Elise Huffer (SPC)
- Doreen Kuper (Pacific Arts Festival)
- Ruth Choulai (Pacific Islands Trade & Invest)
Moderated by Tania Nugent (Australia Network TV)
The event will be recorded.
About the speakers
Alasdair Foster is a consultant specialising in international cultural projects and a researcher in the theory of arts policy formation. He has 20 years’ experience heading national arts institutions in Europe and Australia and over 35 years of working in the not-for-profit sector (both as a board member and as an employee).
He was the founding director of Fotofeis, the award-winning international biennale of photo-based art in Scotland (1991–1997) and, more recently, director of the Australian Centre for Photography (1998–2011). He began his career in the documentary film industry working for Films of Scotland, a company initiated by the legendary John Grierson, before establishing a successful photographic business (1980-1990).
His educational background is in photography, natural philosophy, history and film and he has worked as an artist, curator, writer, editor, researcher, policy advisor and commercial photographer. Alasdair is a founding member of the International Network of Photography Centres, co-founded the Association of International Photo-festival Directors (now the Festival of Light) and an associate of the Asia-Pacific Foto-Forum. He has served on the editorial panel of Black Flash magazine (Canada) and was an international advisor to Fotofo (the international photography festival in Bratislava). In 2011 he was Academic Consultant to the Pingyao International Photography Festival (the first non-Chinese advisor to China’s largest and longest running photo event).
He has contributed to a number of books including Behold the Man: the male nude in photography (Stills 1988); Addressing the Forbidden (Stills 1992), Photographica Australis (ACP, 2002); BLINK(Phaidon 2002); Ray Cook – Diary of a Fortunate Man (QCP 2007), Erwin Olaf (Aperture 2008), Edward Burtynsky – Minescapes (WAM 2009), Imagining the Everyday [China] (ACP 2010), Polixeni Papapetrou: Tales of Elsewhere (ACP 2011) and Ballarat International Foto Biennale catalogue (2011). He has written for newspapers, magazines, journals and catalogues in many parts of the world. He was managing editor of Photofile, Australia’s leading photomedia art magazine (1998-2008) and editor of Photofile in 2003 and 2006-07.
Alasdair Foster is currently a doctoral researcher in the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Learning and Teaching, Monash University, Melbourne and an associate member of the Centre for Visual Anthropology in the Australian National University, Canberra.
Dr Elise Huffer is the Human Development Program Adviser, Culture with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Dr Huffer is responsible for the promotion of culture, and the development of the cultural sector in the Pacific Islands region. This entails the protection of traditional knowledge and preservation of heritage, developing measures to foster the arts and crafts sector (including the preservation of natural resources the arts and crafts sectors depend on) and raising the profile of culture in development policy.
From 1997-2007 she held positions as Associate Professor and Acting Director, Institute of Pacific Studies Publications/Pacific Studies Program, Pacific Institute of Advanced Studies in Development and Governance (PIAS-DG), at the University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. She was also in charge of IPS Publications, a publishing house specialised in the Pacific region which focused on presenting Pacific views and fostering Pacific writers and researchers.
Huffer’s educational achievements include 1991 Ph.D. in Political Science, International Relations (July 1991), Highest honours with commendation of the jury, Universite d’Aix-Marseille III; 1988-1990 Research scholar, Institut de Recherche Scientifique pour Ie Developpement en Cooperation (ORSTOM), Noumea ; 1986 M.A. in Political Science with Honors. Universite de Toulouse; 1983 B.A. in Political Science, International Relations, Magna Cum Laude, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
She is married and has two daughters.
Doreen Kuper is the chair for the board for the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts held in Honiara, Solomon Islands. In her previous roles, she was the honorary consul of the Solomon Islands to New Zealand.
Ruth Choulai is the Creative Arts Manager of the Pacific Islands Trade & Invest Australia. Born in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea and educated in Mittagong, New South Wales. Ruth and her sister, Wendi established PNG Textiles Pty Ltd, it was the catalyst of a 30 year journey of passion and understanding for the Creative Arts, the creators and beautiful objects.
A dedicated hands-on project manager, Ruth has enjoyed a variety of roles within the trade office; her most exciting role, established in 2009, focuses specifically on the Creative Arts sector, bringing together her unique set of skills and interest.
Ruth notes her career highlights as the successful Australian tour of three cities in 2006 by Tanir Cultural Group (PNG), whilst adhering to male cultural protocols; cultural advisor to the musical director of Ai na asi a mavaru kavamu (We don’t dance for no reason) a fusion of Jazz music and Prophet Singing; taking the leading role in staging the first Economic Rights workshop for grass roots musicians, PNG; Curatorial role in the 30th Independence Anniversary Exhibition, PNG High Commission Canberra and the establishment of the commercially focused art exhibition, Maketi Ples.
About the moderator
Tania Nugent is a television presenter and producer with Australia Network. She began her TV career in Papua New Guinea, producing and presenting children’s television programs for EMTV. Tania joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1994 to present the award winning education program Behind the News and has worked in children’s and educational television ever since. She hosts the daily education show Nexus on Australia Network and has been involved in the program since its inception.
Tania is a Papua New Guinean, born in Port Moresby. Her mother is from Finschhafen in the Morobe Province and her father is an Aussie. She attended boarding school in Brisbane for five years, lived and worked in Port Moresby for three years, before moving to Australia for family and career opportunities.
Contact Ben Bohane at bbohane@pacificpolicy.org or +677 765 0824
